wreathe
/ɹið/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.29 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "[S]he ſtarts like one that ſpies an adder, / VVreath'd vp in fatall folds iuſt in his vvay, / The feare vvhereof doth make him ſhake, & ſhudder, […]"
- "[T]he Beards of vvilde Oates, and thoſe of divers other vvilde Plants; […] almoſt continually vvreath and unvvreath themſelves according to, even, the light variations of the temperature of the ambient Air."
- "The Guts are oblong, round, hollovv bodies variouſly vvreathed about, joyning vvith the Pylorus and reaching to the Fundament; ſerving to receive the Chylus and the Excrements of the firſt Concoction."
- "[W]e ſpread our Sails, / And left that Bay, […] vvhile Troy, / Or vvhat vvas Troy, yet vvreathing Smoak to Heaven, / And Ida’s vvoody Top, receding, ſunk / Beneath the trembling Main: […]"
- "There at the foot of yonder nodding beech / That vvreathes its old fantaſtic roots ſo high, / His liſtleſs length at noontide vvou'd he ſtretch, / And pore upon the brook that babbles by."
- "[W]ith Laurels vvreath your poſts, / And ſtrovv vvith Flovv'rs the Pavement; […]"
Etymology
From Middle English wrethen (“to twist”), partly: * from wrethen (“twisted, wreathed”) (whence modern English wreathen (“(obsolete) made into a wreath; twisted”, adjective)), the past participle of writhen, wrythen (“to twist into a braid, coil, or wreath; to twist out of position or shape, deform; to twist together, intertwine; to twist about, writhe; to bend; to swathe, wrap; etc.”), from Old English wrīþan (“to twist; to bind; to wrap”), from Proto-West Germanic *wrīþan (“to twist; to weave”), from Proto-Germanic *wrīþaną (“to twist; to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *wreyt- (“to twist”); and * from wreth, wrethe (“coiled or rounded shape; decorative garland, wreath; chaplet, crown; ring”, noun), from Old English *wreoþa, wriþa (“band, coil, ring”), from Proto-West Germanic *wriþō, from Proto-Germanic *wriþô, from *wrīþaną (see further above).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *wreyt-, wrethen, wrīþan, *wrīþan, *wrīþaną, *wreoþa
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɹið/
- British English: /ɹiːð/
Usage
Inflected Forms
wreathes (present, singular)
wreathing (participle, present)
wreathed (participle, past)
wreathed (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
wreathed (first person, past)
wreath'd (archaic, first person)
wreathest (archaic, present)
wreathed (past, second person)
wreathedst (archaic, past)
wreath'd (archaic, past)